Ads

Getting Your Start in Real Estate

I recently received an email from a woman wanting to know how she could get her starting running her first real estate development deal. She had a project idea in mind, a location, and was basically looking for funding. What she did not have was really any extensive experience in the industry.

If you are an ambitious person who wants to create a real estate empire, you have to start somewhere. But where do most successful real estate developers start?

Of the developers I know, most got their start working at a development firm and learning the ropes from established players. When they had saved up enough money and felt confident to break out on their own, they did. One thing about real estate that I have said many times before is that real estate is really a local industry. There are key developers in every town or city that do most of the meaningful projects. Breaking into their circle may be difficult, but feeding off of their projects is a smart way to get experience and projects under your belt before becoming the lead developer on a project.

If you are ambitious, you may consider hustling and putting deals together for other developers while taking some equity for your work. Alternatively, you can put together a deal and then go out and find a financial partner who will back you for the deal. Working out the specific equity splits can often by complicated but your goal should be to get the project off of the ground while earning a slice of equity for your work.

One key thing to figure out before you really start is what type of real estate player you want to be - a developer from the ground up? a developer who only does rehabiliation projects? a collector of income generating properties? what sector do you want to focus on - residential, commercial, industrial, retail, mixed use, or special projects?

I think it is a great time to get your start in real estate on the residential side. Over-extended developers are trying to get rid of their land on the cheap. There are a lot of houses available for sale all over the place. It's a good time to be opportunistic.